Canada posts first trade surplus since May 2019 as exports surge

Statistics Canada says January saw the country post its first trade surplus since May 2019 as exports surged higher.

The agency says the surplus of $1.4 billion was the largest surplus since July 2014 and compared with a revised deficit of nearly $2 billion in December.

Economists on average had expected a deficit of $1.4 billion for January, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

Total exports rose 8.1 per cent in January to $51.2 billion, with increases in all product sections.

Meanwhile, total imports increased 0.9 per cent in January to $49.8 billion

In real or volume terms, exports were up 5.1 per cent, while imports gained 1.0 per cent.